In this special quarterly roundtable, host Lindsey Schultz brings the MRC team—Heather Simoens, Samantha Larson, and Risa Owen—behind the mic to share what they’re really seeing across mining talent, leadership, and teams under pressure. The result is a candid, practical field report on hiring realities, market momentum, and how leaders can make better, faster decisions without sacrificing fit.
The conversation opens with a scene that’s increasingly common: a leader overwhelmed by inbound applicants, referrals, and LinkedIn messages—so overwhelmed that indecision turns into inaction. The team’s first prescription is simple but powerful: plan the process before you post. Define the interview loop, who needs to weigh in, and how quickly you’ll move. In a market that’s heating up, speed is strategy. Samantha illustrates this with a process engineer who went from zero to multiple offers in days; culture—not just cash—won the day, but only because the client stayed decisive.
Across 2024 into 2025, the team sees a clear shift: more startups, restarts, and OEM roles pulling talent who once stayed loyal to majors. Candidates are prioritizing stability and upward mobility—and many are explicitly saying they want to join a company and stay for a decade. Senior leaders are also choosing hands-on roles again; former CEOs and VPs are raising their hands for GM and operations posts because they miss being close to the work.
Bias and assumptions are a recurring trap. Resumes rarely tell the whole story—and almost no one enjoys writing them. The team urges leaders to take 15-minute “fit checks” and let conversations surface transferable skills and motivations. Don’t pre-reject someone as “overqualified” or “too big-company”; validate fit in dialogue. Similarly, candidates often talk themselves out of roles because change feels risky; a good recruiter helps both sides de-risk the decision.
Innovation is giving mining a better story. The team highlights clients reprocessing mine waste—turning liabilities into resources, jobs, and environmental wins. They’re also seeing consulting spinouts and niche services with clearer value propositions and authentic storytelling. Women-led startups and leadership are increasingly visible and influential.
Onboarding and belonging are core to retention. Be ready on Day 1, introduce new hires broadly, and intentionally plan culture, training, and continuing education. A 30/60/90-day plan—whether provided by the company or proactively crafted by the new hire—aligns expectations and accelerates impact. Tools like the Kolbe assessment help teams understand working styles, reduce friction, and manage to strengths; it’s not a selection filter, but a management advantage.
The hot-seat advice for leaders: listen to your people (and check in regularly), hire small-team builders who communicate and wear multiple hats, and adopt Lindsey’s enduring rule—don’t hire brilliant jerks. If you wouldn’t want to grab lunch with them or take their call, keep looking.
Meet Our Speakers:
👤MRC Recruiting Team
🎙️Lindsey Schultz, Our Host, CEO of MRC Recruiting
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: ⏱️
0:00 – Why this episode is different: quarterly MRC team + focusing on real market patterns (not the LinkedIn highlight reel)
1:00 – Meet the MRC team + setting a more “real talk” tone for the conversation
1:40 – The “recruiting backlog” problem: leaders stuck, not responding, and feeling paralyzed
3:00 – Planning the interview process to avoid the “10 interviews → candidate gets soured” trap
5:00 – Hiring is an investment on both sides: be mindful of the time/cost you’re asking from candidates
6:00 – What’s shifting year-over-year: work comes in cycles, but things feel like they’re picking up (including startups)
7:00 – The market is moving fast: you can’t stall when you find someone you like
8:00 – Example: a “no offers” candidate suddenly has multiple offers right after interviews
9:00 – Why transparency matters: recruiters as advocates/sounding boards (don’t push someone into a bad fit)
10:30 – “Mutual selection”: candidates are choosing employers too (modern recruiting reality)
12:00 – Slow feedback kills momentum: candidates fall off after weeks of no decision
13:00 – New leader question: shifting from “how do we close?” to “how do we attract candidates (authentically)?”
14:00 – Asking for blind spots: leaders using recruiters as a “market barometer” + recon conversations
15:00 – 2026 outlook: confidence is higher, but “where will we find the people?” is the big worry
16:00 – A notable shift: more candidates want stability, growth, and a long runway (10-year thinking)
19:00 – Majors → smaller companies: people realizing “big” isn’t always more secure + more fun/impact in smaller teams
21:00 – “Why would they want this role?” assumptions: senior leaders often want boots-on-ground work again
24:00 – Innovation spotlight: mine waste reprocessing + improving mining’s story (“making mining sexy”)
28:00 – Where bias shows up: leaders over-index on resumes instead of conversations
32:00 – The “15-minute fit check” mindset: trust + quick conversations beat premature rejection
39:00 – Onboarding + belonging: be ready, welcome people well, and build cross-team understanding early
41:00 – Culture has to be intentional (it’s not a ping pong table)
42:00 – 30/60/90 plans + check-ins: clarity helps both brand-new roles and nervous new hires
44:00 – Leadership hot-seat: listen to your people, do check-ins, and protect team communication
47:00 – Kolbe: useful for understanding how people work together (not a “hire/fire” tool)
48:40 – “No A-hole Rule”: if you wouldn’t want to go to lunch with them, don’t hire them
59:00 – Wrap-up: team-building is iterative + where to follow/subscribe
Connect with us on LinkedIn and check out monthly episodes of Ore-atory: Elevating Mining Minds on Apple Podcast or Spotify, where we continue to explore the mining industry workspace.
Tune in and be part of the conversation that’s shaping the future of mining!
Are you a job seeker looking for your next opportunity or an organization looking to hire your next team member? If you have time for a quick chat about your goals MRC can help connect with us.